Scientists have recreated the face of the 3,500-year-old Egyptian pharaoh who founded the Valley of the Kings: he was worshiped as a god. Photo.

Using 3D design, scientists were able to recreate the face of Amenhotep I, the ruler of Egypt who founded the Valley of the Kings. He died 3500 years ago at the age of about 35 before being preserved by mummification.

After his death, he was worshiped as a god, primarily because during his reign he led Egypt into a new era of peace and prosperity. The 3D images of the pharaoh were made by Brazilian designer and scientist Cicero Morares. The process of their creation was carried out by mixing faces made by different methods, MailOnline writes.

One method involved distributing soft tissue thickness markers across the pharaoh's skull, guided by computed tomography (CT) scans from living donors. The other was a technique called anatomical deformation, in which a digital recreation of the donor's head was adjusted until the skull matched the pharaoh's. This method was made possible by a computed tomography scan of Amenhotep's skull taken in 2021.

This work, conducted by paleoradiologist Sahar N. Salim of Cairo University and Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, virtually unwrapped Amenhotep's mummified remains using computed tomography and revealed details of his appearance, skeletal structure, and some of his surviving internal organs, including his heart and brain.

Archaeologist Michael Habicht of Flinders University in Australia said that Amenhotep was approximately 165 cm tall, had curly hair, and his teeth were in good condition.

"By crossing the data from all the projections, we created the final bust and added a historical costume to the structure," explained Cicero Morales.

However, when the designer opened the pharaoh's face, he saw that it did not match the way the god was depicted on all the statues.

"Many mummies, such as Amenhotep I, show an overbite, and this is generally not reflected in the statues in an appropriate way. In general, the Amenhotep I statues are compliant in the nose area, but more refined in the glabella area and more prominent in the chin area," he commented.

This digital reconstruction offers a first-of-its-kind look at the face of this famous king. This was made possible by the Egyptologists who paved the way for this work.

"This work was done not only by us, but by all those who have seriously studied and are studying ancient Egypt, always sharing information," Cicero Morales said.

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